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A season of progress: celebrating innovation and collaboration
7th April 2025
As we I approach my first anniversary as Dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences it’s an ideal time to celebrate the achievements of our Faculty and the exciting developments shaping our future. From a prestigious royal visit to the launch of our Faculty film, these milestones highlight the dedication and innovation that define our community.
Royal Visit to the People and Nature Lab
In February, we had the honour of welcoming Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal to our People and Nature Lab at UCL East. In her capacity as Chancellor of the University of London, The Princess Royal's visit underscored the significance of our interdisciplinary research and training initiatives at UCL East.
During her visit, The Princess engaged with our students and researchers, gaining insights into our efforts to address pressing global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem degradation. She explored our living lab garden, which integrates advanced technologies like AI-based acoustic sensors and environmental DNA monitoring to better understand and protect our natural environment.
This visit not only highlighted the pivotal role of the People and Nature Lab in fostering sustainable solutions but also reinforced our commitment to training the next generation of environmental leaders. We are immensely proud of the collaborative spirit and dedication demonstrated by our faculty and students during this occasion.
Launch of the Life Sciences Faculty Film
In our ongoing effort to communicate the depth and impact of our research, we are excited to announce the launch of a new film showcasing the Faculty of Life Sciences' diverse research endeavours. This film provides a window into the innovative projects and groundbreaking studies, highlighting our commitment to addressing some of the most pressing health and environmental challenges of our time. Watch our film on our faculty homepage.
It is a testament to the hard work and passion that drives our faculty and serves as an invitation for greater collaboration and engagement with our ongoing projects.
Looking Ahead
As we move forward, these recent events serve as a reminder of the dynamic and impactful work being carried out within our Faculty. The recognition and support from distinguished visitors and the broader community inspire us to continue pushing boundaries in research and education.
Professor Gail Taylor
Dean, UCL Faculty of Life Sciences
Welcome 2025
30th January 2025
As we step into 2025, I am thrilled to reflect on the milestones of the past year and to share some of the Faculty of Life Sciences’ most significant achievements.
Highlight of the year: Nobel Prize success
A particular highlight of 2024 was the remarkable achievement of two of our alumni, Professor Geoffrey E. Hinton and Sir Demis Hassabis CBE, who were awarded Nobel Prizes. Their pioneering work in artificial intelligence and neuroscience underscores the profound and lasting impact of UCL’s research community. These successes build on the legacy of the Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit (GCNU), and we look forward to further growing this area of life sciences research in the years ahead.
Bending the curve of biodiversity loss
A defining moment of 2024 was the launch of our Bending the Curve of Biodiversity Loss campaign, coinciding with the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP16). This initiative exemplifies UCL’s commitment to addressing the biodiversity crisis, exploring why biodiversity matters, the implications of biodiversity loss, and how to drive systemic change for the benefit of nature and humanity.
The campaign’s success is a testament to the incredible efforts of our researchers and staff, whose dedication has brought UCL’s biodiversity work to the global stage. Special thanks go to the Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research (CBER), whose contributions have been instrumental in shaping this initiative.
In December, we hosted an inspiring alumni event at the Grant Museum, centred on biodiversity. Professor Jon Bridle, Professor of Evolutionary Biology, delivered a compelling lecture titled ‘A Future We Can Get to Safely: Why and How Biodiversity Matters’. Guests also explored the museum through a virtual reality installation that transformed it into a coral reef, showcasing healthy, degraded, and restored ecosystems. If you missed the event, Jon’s lecture is now available on our YouTube channel.
Celebrating excellence in research and innovation
This year has been marked by remarkable research achievements. Ground-breaking papers include insights into how cell fate decisions are made during development, published in Nature Communications, and a study on brain-wide activity in decision-making featured in Nature. These and many other works showcase the Faculty’s research excellence and its impact on global challenges.
We were also delighted to celebrate staff successes. Professor Tim Blackburn (Professor of Invasion Biology) and Dr Tim Newbold (Professor of Conservation Ecology) from UCL's Genetics, Evolution & Environment department, received prestigious Zoological Society of London Science Awards, while Stephen Hilton and colleagues won the Royal Society of Chemistry Prize for their innovative use of virtual reality in teaching. Professor Michael Duchen was also recognised with the Biochemical Society’s 2024 Keilin Memorial Lecture award for his outstanding contributions to biochemistry. Adding to the year’s accolades, alumni Professor Geoffrey E. Hinton and Sir Demis Hassabis CBE received Nobel Prizes in 2024, marking a proud moment for the Faculty.
Sustainability and global recognition
UCL’s commitment to sustainability reached new heights this year, with UCL ranking first in the UK and fifth globally in the QS Sustainability Rankings. This outstanding achievement reflects the dedication of our entire community to driving meaningful environmental impact.
Thank you for your continued support and engagement with the Faculty. As we move into a new year, we look forward to sharing further successes with you.
Professor Gail Taylor
Dean, UCL Faculty of Life Sciences
Faculty of Life Sciences News
Decoding the genome for a longer lifespan
Changes in the expression profile of tRNAs, the molecules that decode the genetic information, can increase stress tolerance and improve health and survival in old age in animal models. Read more on our website.
Bending the curve of biodiversity loss
UCL's campaign Bending the curve of biodiversity loss puts a spotlight on the university's biodiversity research. This research helps to show why biodiversity matters, what the consequences of biodiversity gain and loss are, and how we might reengineer our systems to achieve healthier outcomes for us and the rest of nature. Read more on our website.
Blakeney Point of View
Our latest cohort of students has visited the Francis Wall Oliver Research Centre at Blakeney Point in Norfolk as part of their field work. UCL has been taking biology students to its field station at the Old Lifeboat Station on Blakeney Point for more than a century!
The UCL biodiversity master’s student trip to Blakeney Point was the usual mix of hard work, pleasure and pain, with the last hopefully mainly reserved for the course organisers. Read more on our website.
Neuroscience alumni’s research included in BBC’s favourite science stories of 2024
Alexander S. Bates and Laia Serratosa Capdevila (both BSc Neuroscience 2015) are two of the authors of a paper mapping the brain of fruit flies which was highlighted by the BBC as a scientific win of 2024.
The most detailed analysis of the brain of an adult animal ever produced, it was described by one leading brain specialist independent of the research as a 'huge leap' in our understanding of our own brains. Read more on our website.
Faculty Awards and Accolades
UCL researchers awarded prestigious ZSL Science awards
Every year, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) recognises outstanding achievements and contributions made in zoology and conservation science through its awards programme. Researchers in these fields gathered together last night to celebrate the outstanding contributions made by the winners of the prestigious ZSL science and conservation awards. Two members of UCL's Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research were amongst the awardees. Read more on our website.
International team wins prestigious Royal Society of Chemistry Prize
The 3DI and ISCC Virtual Centers have been named winners of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Horizon Prize for Education in recognition of innovation in chemistry education.
The team is a collaboration between UCL School of Pharmacy, UCL Division of Surgery, Marmara University, University of Kent, Department of Global and Lifelong learning, ICT Mumbai, and Queen Mary University. Read more on our website.
Faculty of Life Sciences celebrates 2024 Nobel successes
We are delighted to announce that two former colleagues have been awarded Nobel Prizes this year. Professor Geoffrey E. Hinton and Sir Demis Hassabis CBE both have longstanding connections to the Faculty of Life Sciences. Read more on our website.
UCL developmental genetics professor receives Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard Award
Professor Steve Wilson (The Francis Crick Institute) has received the Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard Award, which recognises outstanding achievements in zebrafish research. Read more on our website.
Bending the curve of biodiversity loss
9 December 2024
In my last blog entry, I highlighted the triple planetary crisis we are experiencing – climate change, declining biodiversity and increasing pollution. This week we welcomed Professor Jon Bridle, Professor of Evolutionary Biology, who spoke at our Faculty Lecture Series on ‘A future we can get to safely: why and how biodiversity matters’. I was delighted to welcome guests from our alumni community to the talk and to join us afterwards at the wonderful Grant Museum where visitors could use virtual reality to experience being submerged in a 'flooded' museum transformed into a coral reef, amongst healthy, degraded and restored coral in an installation built from audio recordings and underwater photography captured in the Pacific Ocean.
In his talk Jon demonstrated the value of Biodiversity, and how its rapid loss affects poverty, health and social justice. You can watch Jon’s talk on Youtube.
The decline in biodiversity was starkly illustrated by October’s Living Planet Report, which revealed that global wildlife populations have shrunk by an average of 73% in the past 50 years.
The Faculty of Life Sciences’ response has been to launch a campaign, Bending the curve of biodiversity loss, which employs UCL research to show why biodiversity matters, what the consequences of biodiversity gain and loss are, and how we might reengineer our systems to achieve healthier outcomes for us and the rest of nature.
The campaign launched at the same time as COP16, the 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. This was the first time that UCL sent a delegation to the biodiversity conference – an acknowledgement of UCL’s increasing focus on the nature crisis. For further insight into the conference, I recommend the video diary of COP16 attendee Izzy Bishop.
The Faculty’s biodiversity campaign will continue to highlight relevant research from across the university throughout the year as UCL retains its focus on this critical issue.
New Beginnings, Global Challenges: Navigating Sustainability in the New Academic Year
30 September 2024
It’s the start of a new academic year and on behalf of the Faculty of Life Sciences, welcome to all of our new and returning students. It’s wonderful to see the campus so busy. My own September has been focused as one of the coordinating lead authors of a report that will be published in a year or so- GEO-7, The Global Environment Outlook. The report brings together over 100 experts as authors to work as part of the United National Environment Programme (UNEP), an organization best known for developing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The report aims to unravel why current policies are not keeping pace with the rate of environmental degradation faced today: None of the 17 sustainable development goals the United Nations adopted in 2015 are likely to be achieved by 2030. Those goals include ending poverty, hunger, inequity and injustice, ensuring sustainable economic growth and fighting climate change. We are in the grips of a triple planetary crisis- climate change, declining biodiversity and increasing pollution.
Despite the threat posed by this environmental crisis – many of the solutions to reverse the decline are already known, but are rarely effectively implemented – how to enable solutions to be effective appears to be key. A new type of transformative thinking is required that brings multiple actors together including financial institutions, individuals and groups, science and technology, policy makers, alongside indigenous and local knowledge. Hopefully GEO-7 will provide a blueprint for how we can find solutions to ensure a sustainable future.
Government minister visits UCL to explore life sciences research
29 July 2024
One of the highlights of my role as Dean of Life Sciences is to help showcase the amazing research and to celebrate the people behind this work.
Last week I welcomed Baroness Gillian Merron, the Health Minister responsible for life sciences and innovation who toured some of UCL’s life sciences facilities to see first-hand how research is helping to tackle some of the world’s biggest health challenges. Baroness Merron was joined by Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Adviser.
Our first stop was the UCL Zebrafish Lab where Steve Wilson, Associate Research Director for University Partnerships at the Francis Crick Institute and Isaac Bianco, Principal Research Fellow, UCL Research Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology demonstrated how the fish are used for a wide range of research projects at UCL including the mechanisms of eye development, bone cancer, neural circuit function and stem cell renewal. Zebrafish are one of the favoured animal model systems for research in many areas including embryonic development, genetic analyses of disease, neural circuit function and behaviour. Researchers are also conducting research into the care, biosecurity and best means of monitoring the zebrafish themselves which inform their care and use around the world.
We continued our tour at UCL Drug Discovery Institute and UK Dementia Research Institute in the Cruciform teaching laboratories where Baroness Merron and Lucy Chappell met with a group of UCL research students. As always, it is great to hear from our students who are working with our community of world-leading researchers.
Reflections on my first term
22 July 2024
As another academic year concludes, I am delighted to welcome you to the first edition of my blog, as Dean of Life Sciences.
I am thrilled to announce that our Faculty continues to excel in global rankings. The Faculty of Life Sciences is ranked fourth in the world for Pharmacy and Pharmacology, sixth for Biological Sciences, and ninth for Life Sciences (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024).
One of the highlights this year has been the opening of the People and Nature Lab Rooftop Garden, a testament to UCL’s commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration and our Grand Challenges. This innovative space is already a vibrant hub for both research and relaxation.
I extend my congratulations to Professors Ijeoma Uchegbu FMedSci and Andreas Schatzlein from the UCL School of Pharmacy, who have been honoured with the King’s Award for Enterprise 2024 in the category of innovation. This remarkable achievement underscores the cutting-edge work within our Faculty.
We are also celebrating the School of Pharmacy’s recent success in achieving the Silver Athena SWAN Award, reflecting our ongoing dedication to advancing gender equality and supporting career progression for all staff.
Our alumni continue to shine on the global stage, with three of our own – Sioned Jones, Tara O’Driscoll, and James McBride – making the latest Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list. Their achievements are a source of great pride and inspiration.
In research news, we are thrilled to announce that Professor Jürg Bähler from the UCL Institute of Healthy Ageing has secured two large funding grants. Professor Bähler has been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant, one of nine awarded to UCL researchers this year. This prestigious funding will support his pioneering work on the roles of priority unstudied proteins in cellular quiescence and ageing. Additionally, he has received an eight-year Wellcome Discovery Award to pursue bold and creative research ideas that promise significant advances in our understanding of human life, health, and wellbeing.
Our Faculty’s research continues to capture widespread attention. Professor Roberto Mayor’s study on how pressure in the womb may influence facial development has garnered significant media coverage. Additionally, a global analysis co-led by Professor Ian C.K. Wong and Dr Kenneth Man suggests that the link between maternal diabetes and child ADHD may not be causal, challenging previous assumptions and opening new avenues for research.I am immensely proud of our Faculty’s accomplishments and the extraordinary team that makes them possible. I look forward to sharing more exciting developments with you in the months ahead.
Professor Gail Taylor
Dean, UCL Faculty of Life Sciences
Faculty of Life Sciences News
Genes provide hope for the survival of Arabia’s last big cat
The release of captive bred Arabian leopards carefully selected for their genes could make a significant contribution to the successful recovery of the critically endangered wild population and avert extinction, according to new research involving UCL. Read more here.
Left side story: new insights into the genetics of brain asymmetry
Differences between the left and right sides of the nervous system are seen in all animals, including humans. This study reveals a new piece in the puzzle of how such asymmetries can arise. Read more here.
Cell division, fishing, Latin and some far eastern languages - Richard Poole's lab combines all!
Richard Poole’s lab (UCL Cell and Developmental Biology) has recently had a paper published in the prestigious journal, 'Development'. Here, we reveal their findings - and links to fishing, and the Latin, Japanese and Korean languages!
The development of multicellular organisms creates various cell types with unique molecular signatures and specific sizes, often through asymmetric cell division. This paper suggests that the regulation of neural fate and cell size is a mechanism to ensure adequate neuronal size during C. elegans embryonic development, where cell growth mechanisms do not operate. Read more here.
Analysis: A new AI tool to help monitor coral reef health
PhD candidate Ben Williams (UCL Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research and ZSL’s Institute of Zoology) writes with a colleague about why they built SurfPerch, an AI led system to make it faster and easier for marine scientists to answer ecological questions.
Coral reefs cover only 0.1% of the ocean's surface — yet they host 25% of all known marine species. It is critical that we greatly scale-up our efforts to monitor, manage, protect and restore reefs around the world that are in crisis as a result of threats such as overfishing, disease, coastal construction or heatwaves. Read more here.
Faculty Awards and Accolades
Nanomerics awarded the King's Award for Enterprise 2024 – Innovation
Nanomerics Ltd, founded by Professors Ijeoma Uchegbu and Andreas Schätzlein, has received a King's Award for Enterprise in the category of Innovation. The King's Award for Enterprise is the most prestigious business award in the UK. Read more here.
Professor of Neuroesthetics elected International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Semir Zeki, Professor of Neuroesthetics in the Department of Cell & Developmental Biology, has officially been confirmed as an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Read more here.
ISIS Impact Award – understanding therapeutic antibodies
Professor Steve Perkins (Division of Biosciences) and Dr Jayesh Bhatt (Department of Physics & Astronomy) have received the Society Impact Award 2024 from ISIS, STFC (UKRI). Read more here.
Athena Swan Silver Award for the UCL School of Pharmacy
We are delighted to announce that the UCL School of Pharmacy has been awarded a Silver Athena Swan award following the application submission in March 2024. Read more here.
Meet the Expert: Joanne Littlefair
